Quick-Start Guidefor Coaches

Aquatics

Table of Contents

Training Session Safety GuidelinesPage 3

Tips for Conducting Safe Training SessionsPage 5

Daily Performance RecordPage 7

Aquatics AttirePage 9

General Swimming Equipment List At-A-GlancePage 10

General Coaching PointsPage 10

Modifications and AdaptationsPage 11

Essential Components of Planning an Aquatics Training SessionPage 12

Principles of Effective Training SessionsPage 13

The Warm-UpPage 14

StretchingPage 16

The Cool-DownPage 16

Home Training ProgramPage 17

Skill Progression- Learn to SwimPage 18

The StrokesPage 21

Skill Progression- FreestylePage 22

Freestyle/ Front CrawlPage 22

Skill Progression- BackstrokePage 25

Backstroke/ Back CrawlPage 25

Skill Progression- BreaststrokePage 28

BreaststrokePage 28

Skill Progression- ButterflyPage 30

ButterflyPage 30

Individual MedleyPage 31

Swimming StartsPage 32

Swimming TurnsPage 33

Aquatics Athlete Skills Stroke Development AssessmentPage 34

Sample Squad Training ProgramPage 36

NutritionPage 38

An Aquatics CompetitionPage 42

Aquatics GlossaryPage 43

Incident Report InstructionsPage 46

Training Session Safety Guidelines

Coaches are a major part of aquatics programs. They need to be well-informed and trained in all facility procedures, such as following emergency action plans, completing and filing accident reports and complying with follow-up procedures to an incident that may have occurred while they were in charge.

Electrical Safety

Electrical shock is a very real hazard in the operation of swimming pools. Permanent or temporary electrical connections and wires used with the following equipment may come in contact with water, including:

  1. Underwater lights
  2. Tape recorders
  3. Record players
  4. Automatic timing devices
  5. Place clocks
  6. Electronic loud speakers
  7. Start systems
  8. Pool vacuum cleaners
  9. Many other types of electrical devices operating on line voltages in the vicinity of the racing course involve wires stretched across the pool deck. These devices are connected to the power supply.

In case of electrical shock or electrocution, call emergency personnel, and follow the facility’s emergency action plan. Shut off the power source and immediately check the swimmer’s airway, breathing and circulation. Use nonconductive equipment to remove the swimmer from the source of electricity if the power cannot be turned off.

Assists and Rescues

Swimmers may be in danger of drowning from a head injury, heart attack, stroke, fainting, overexertion, seizure or incapacitating cramps as well as other causes.

How the Coach Can Assist

Teach swimmers that if they feel panicky, they should try to reach the lane lines and use the lines for support. You can use the reaching, throwing or wading methods described below to assist a swimmer in a water emergency. In most cases, at least one of these measures will be successful. While you attempt to make an assist, someone in your group must be prepared to call emergency personnel immediately, if necessary, to attend to the rescued swimmer.

Drowning Situations

In this situation, a swimmer is unable to call for help or to wave his/her arms. A distress situation may become a drowning situation when the swimmer, for whatever reason, is no longer able to keep afloat. Drowning situations may be classified as passive or active.

Passive

In a passive drowning situation, the athlete may be conscious or unconscious. The swimmer might suddenly slip under water, making no attempt to call for help, and may float facedown near the surface of the water. A passive drowning situation can result from any of the following causes:

  • A heart attack or stroke
  • An accidental blow to the head from another swimmer or an object, such as a kickboard
  • Hyperventilation and blackout
  • Cold water shock after sudden submersion in cold water. The athlete may feel a strong urge to gasp. Gasping could cause the swimmer to take in water which, in turn, might cause panic and eventual suffocation.

Active

In contrast to a passive drowning situation, the athlete in an active drowning situation is conscious. Actions may be violent or weak, depending on the amount of energy the athlete possesses. An active drowning athlete’s buoyancy will alternate between neutral and negative. The athlete’s arms may be extended outward from his/her sides, thrashing up and down in the water, not allowing forward progress. Instead, the athlete will alternately raise and lower him/herself in the water.

Buoyancy may be lost each time the athlete goes beneath the surface. The athlete becomes less able to take in air and has to work harder to stay on the surface. Panic will begin to set in during the process, and the athlete will be unable to call for help because of concentrating all his/her efforts on breathing. Swimmers must be supported so they can breathe freely after initial contact and during the carry to safety. In distress or drowning situations, the coach must use safe and effective forms of rescue.

Do Not Endanger Yourself

Remember, the only way you can help a swimmer in trouble iswhen you are in a safe position yourself and you can maintain control of the situation. The reaching, throwing and wading methods presented in this section will help keep you safe and in control. Swimming out to bring a distressed swimmer to safety requires special training. If a coach who has not had safety training approaches a distressed swimmer, he/she will be risking two lives. Leaping into the water to help someone may seem courageous, but choosing one of the following methods described here―reach assist, throwing assist, ring buoy, free floating support and wading assist- is much more likely to result in a successful assist.

Reach Assists

Reach with a pole, a kickboard or other object. Firmly brace yourself on the pool deck and reach out to the athlete with any object that will lengthen your reach, such as a pole, kickboard, rescue tube, shirt, belt or towel. When the athlete is able to grasp the extended object, slowly and carefully pull the athlete to safety.

Reach with your arm or leg. In the water, use one hand to get a firm grasp on the pool ladder, overflow trough or other secure object; then extend your free hand or one of your legs to the athlete. Maintain your grasp at the water’s edge. Do not swim out into the water.

Throwing Assists

You can throw a ring buoy, throw bag, rescue tube or other device for the athlete to grab and be pulled to safety. Follow these steps:

  1. Get into a position that is safe and allows you to maintain your balance. Bend your knees. Step on the non-throwing end of the rope.
  2. Aim your throw so that the device will fall just beyond the athlete and within reach.
  3. When the athlete has grasped the device, talk reassuringly while slowly pulling the athlete to safety, leaning your body weight away from the athlete as you pull.

Ring Buoy

The ring buoy is made of buoyant cork, kapok or foam rubber. The buoy should have 20-25 meters of lightweight line with a lemon or other object at the end. This will float the line if it falls in the water and prevent the line from slipping out from under your foot when you throw the ring buoy. The buoy and coiled line is hung in an easily accessible location so that anyone can quickly grasp it.

Free Floating Support

A rescue buoy, kickboard, rescue tube and ring buoy are examples of equipment that can used as free-floating supports. To use a free-floating support, push it to the athlete and encourage him/her to grasp the support and kick toward safety.

Wading Assists

If the water is shallow (not above waist deep), you can wade in with an emergency device or buoyant object and extend it to the athlete. For this kind of assist, use a rescue tube, ring buoy, kickboard or pull buoy.

You can use the equipment for support in the water, and the athlete can grasp the other side of it. You can then pull the athlete to safety, or you can let go of the piece of equipment and tell the athlete to start kicking toward safety.

Always keep the piece of equipment between you and the athlete. If the athlete should panic and grab you, you could be in danger too.

Tips for Conducting Safe Training Sessions

  1. If at an outdoor pool, have a plan to evacuate athletes if there is danger of lightening.
  2. Always rope off the swimming areas so that athletes do not obstruct other swimmers.
  3. Make sure athletes bring water to every practice, especially in hotter climates.
  4. Check your first-aid kit; restock supplies as necessary.
  5. Identify the nearest phone that is accessible during practice.
  6. Ensure that the locker rooms and/or restrooms are available and clean during practice.
  7. Train all athletes and coaches on emergency procedures.
  8. Do not allow athletes to swim while wearing watches, bracelets or jewelry, including earrings.
  9. At the beginning of each practice, provide proper stretching exercises after warming up.
  10. Provide activities that also improve general fitness levels. Fit athletes are less likely to get injured.

Pool Preparation

Before swimming, it is critical to make sure the area is safe and clear of objects. Swimming aids and all other pool equipment should be in a designated place. No equipment or articles should be left lying on the deck area.

Many Special Olympics athletes train in a public pool, so it is important that swimmers are aware of the designated areas /lanes allocated to them for training purposes.

Although most Special Olympics athletes do not require special facilities for swimming, some modifications and adaptations may be necessary for safety reasons. Following are necessary factors to consider when planning a swimming training session.

  • Architectural barriers within and around the pool
  • Entrances
  • Doorways
  • Restrooms and showers
  • Locker or change rooms
  • Pool decks and bottom
  • Water depth and condition
  • Water and air temperature
  • Ladder, steps, stairs and ramps
  • Lighting
  • Review emergency plan, and determine the specific signals that are used in identifying an emergency within the facility
  • Check for slippery deck conditions and remove standing water
  • Ensure there are certified lifeguards with no other duty but to guard
  • Check wheelchair access
  • If in a public pool, designate an adult/volunteer to act as a spotter for the group. Life guards may not be specifically watching your group/squad all the time
  • Check location of safety equipment for emergency use around the pool area
  • Be aware of other users within the complex

Always be ready to make adaptations and modifications in both your program and facility if necessary. Remember, it is always better to adapt the program to the facility than not to offer any swimming instruction and training at all.

Daily Performance Record

The Daily Performance Record is designed to keep an accurate record of the athletes’ daily performances as they learn a sports skill. There are several reasons why the coach can benefit from using the Daily Performance Record.

  1. The record becomes a permanent documentation of the athlete’s progress.
  2. The record helps the coach establish measurable consistency in the athlete’s training program.
  3. The record allows the coach to be flexible during the actual teaching and coaching session, because he can break down the skills into specific, smaller tasks that meet the individual needs of each athlete.
  4. The record helps the coach choose proper skillteaching methods, correct conditions and criteria for evaluating the athlete’s performance of the skills.

Using the Daily Performance Record

At the top of the record, the coach enters his/her name, the athlete’s name and aquatics event. If more than one coach works with an athlete, they should enter the dates that they work with the athlete next to their names.

Before the training session begins, the coach decides what skills will be covered. The coach makes this decision based on the athlete’s age, interests and his/her mental and physical abilities. The skill needs to be a statement or a description of the specific exercise that the athlete must perform. The coach enters the skill on the top line of the left-hand column. Each subsequent skill is entered after the athlete masters the previous skill. Of course, more than one sheet may be used to record all of the skills involved. Also, if the athlete cannot perform a prescribed skill, the coach may break down the skill into smaller tasks that will allow for the athlete’s success at the new skill.

Conditions and Criteria for Mastering Skills

After the coach enters the skill, he/she must then decide on the conditions and criteria by which the athlete must master the skill. Conditions are special circumstances that define the manner in which the athlete must perform a skill. For example, “given a demonstration, and with assistance.” The coach needs to always operate under the assumption that the ultimate conditions in which the athlete masters a skill are, “upon command and without assistance,” and, therefore, does not have to enter these conditions in the record next to the skill entry. Ideally, the coach needs to arrange the skills and conditions such that the athlete gradually learns to perform the skill while upon command and without assistance.

Criteria are the standards that determine how well the skill must be performed. The coach needs to determine a standard that realistically suits the athlete’s mental and physical abilities. For example, “perform a distance of 30centimeters, 60 percent of the time.” Given the varied nature of skills, the criteria might involve many different types of standards, such as amount of time, number of repetitions, accuracy, distance or speed.

Dates of Sessions and Levels of Instruction Used

The coach may work on one task for a couple of days and may use several methods of instruction during that time to progress to the point where the athlete performs the task upon command and without assistance. To establish a consistent curriculum for the athlete, the coach must record the dates he/she works on particular tasks and must enter the methods of instruction that were used on those dates.

Event: / Insert Event Name / Athlete’s Name / Insert Name
Skill: / Insert Skill / Coach’s Name / Insert Name

Skill Analysis

/

Conditions & Criteria

/

Dates & Instruction Methods

/

Date Mastered

Aquatics Attire

Appropriate aquatics attire is required for all competitors. As a coach, discuss the types of sport clothes that are acceptable and not acceptable for training and competition. Discuss the importance of wearing properly fitted clothing, along with the advantages and disadvantages of wearing certain types of clothing during training and competitions. For example, long pants and shirts are not proper aquatics attire for any event. Explain that swimmers cannot perform their best while wearing long pants or shirtsthat restrict their movement.

Take athletes to high school or collegiate meets and point out the attire being worn. You can even set the example, by wearing appropriate attire to training and competitions and not rewarding athletes that come improperly dressed to train and/or compete.

Clothing must be suited to the activities involved. Few sports require less equipment than swimming. Although equipment such as goggles and caps are recommended, a Special Olympics athlete only needs a swimsuit to participate.

Swimsuits

The swimsuit can be anything that closely resembles skin in fit and feel. For males, any brief swim suit made of smooth, quick-drying fabric, such as nylon or lycra, is fine. Gym shorts with waistbands that fit snugly around the waist can be substituted.

A one-piece suit is recommended for females. The suit needs to be close-fitting, and cut so as not to hinder movements. The swimsuit needs to be substantial enough to stay on the athlete’s body while they train.

Racing suits, whether for men or women, will provide less drag and provide more efficiency in the water.

Cap

A tight-fitting, stretch swimmer’s cap is recommended. Swim caps will prevent the hair from falling in the swimmer’s face and thus provide less of a distraction. Besides keeping the swimmer’s hair dry, the cap also reduces water drag and resistance.

Goggles

Swim goggles are encouraged. Goggles allow the swimmers to comfortably put their faces in the water, thus allowing for better body position and more efficiency. There must be careful adherence to safety with the use of this equipment. There are several varieties of goggles that allow for choices, depending on each swimmer’s face.